NH Investment & Securities, South Korea’s second-largest securities firm by net assets, was picked as the most preferred bidder for Seoul Square, a prime office building located in central Seoul, according to the company Wednesday. NH Investment & Securities expects the deal worth 1 trillion won ($890 million) to be complete by the end of November, which would be the second-priciest bid in Korea following an M&G Real Estate Korea 1.1 trillion-won purchase deal of the Centropoli

South Korea’s securities firms saw their local branch network shrink by 40.3 percent in the past seven years until June this year, with the arrival of mobile trading infrastructure here, data showed Wednesday.  According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the number of brick-and-mortar branches of 56 securities firms that locate at least one business unit in Korea came to 1,116 as of end-June, indicating that 756 branches in Korea have been removed since June 2011. By brok

The Korea Exchange, South Korea’s sole market operator, will list an exchange-traded fund Wednesday that tracks an index built on big data technology. 　The Kodex Secondary Battery Industry ETF, provided by Samsung Asset Management, will mark the first to use this methodology for this purpose, according to Ko Young-tae, an official in charge of ETF listings at the KRX.The big data techniques will include semantic analyses centering on online materials such as disclosures, investor relations

Hurdles that impede the flow of cross-border transactions have created cryptocurrency price gaps of more than 40 percent between Korea and other countries, researchers from South Korea’s central bank said Tuesday.The Bank of Korea researchers added that the underlying factors were unlikely to disappear in the near future, meaning the so-called “kimchi premium” is likely to endure for some time. The term “kimchi premium” refers to the gap in cryptocurrency prices on

South Korean investors on Monday began to rush to stocks in business areas related to the production of face masks and the development of vaccines, after the recent return of Middle East respiratory syndrome.But foreign investors contributed little to the sharp upward trend in demand for these stocks.  Upon market opening at 9 a.m., GeneOne Life Science, a Korean drugmaker known to have been pursuing development of a MERS vaccine; and Okong, a maker of adhesive products including disposable

South Korea’s 11 real estate trust companies logged a combined 285.3 billion won ($253.1 million) net profit in the first half of 2018, surpassing their performance in all previous half-years, preliminary data showed Monday.  The figure represented an on-year increase of 17.6 percent, and business was in the black for all 11 companies, according to the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea’s financial watchdog.Meanwhile, the companies’ operating profits soared 17.1 percent

This is the 61st in a series of articles analyzing major companies traded on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market. -- Ed.South Korea’s leading smart card part manufacturer Kona I is gaining market presence as a reloadable prepaid card provider, catalyzed by a series of events over the past couple of months.Analysts have expressed optimism that the Seoul-headquartered firm, which has been running at a loss since 2016, can make turnaround by the end of this year.As of Friday, Kona I was the 193rd-la

South Korea’s central bank on Friday held the key rate steady at 1.5 percent for a ninth consecutive month on sluggish employment and external unease in August, defending its “accommodative” stance in normalizing monetary policy.The Bank of Korea cited sluggish employment conditions and spreading global trade protectionism, while expressing optimism for consistent domestic economic growth, favorable movements in exports and a moderate level of consumer price inflation at a

On July 20, 47,000 square meters of land in the port city of Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, 65 kilometers south of Seoul, began to be parceled out to companies with foreign ownership that have sought lower expenses in business administration and synergy effect. (Gyeonggi Urban Innovation Corporation)By giving priority in sales of land in its industrial complex to Korean auto part makers and machine manufacturers that had received foreign investment, authorities said Pyeongtaek BIX will serve as

Woori Bank will become South Korea’s first commercial bank to shorten its workweek to 52 hours, a step to be implemented within a yearlong grace period under a government statute designed to help employees achieve a better work-life balance.Following an agreement between the bank’s management and its labor union, Woori Bank will begin phasing in the new policy in October. Teams or branches that require assistance will be reinforced with more employees, according to the bank. In addit

South Korean brokerage house Samsung Securities is expanding the global network for esports market research to local investors amid its growing presence in the sports industry. Esports refers to a form of competition using multiplayer video games. The ongoing 2018 Asian Games feature esports as a demonstration sport. ESports will debut as a medal event at the forthcoming 2022 Asian Games.  Samsung Securities analyzes the world’s esports market by two sectors -- game software developer

South Korea’s brokerage house KB Securities was slapped the highest number of disciplinary actions among financial firms here since 2015, data showed Wednesday.  From 2015 to the end of June this year, KB Securities, which was renamed after KB Investment & Securities’ merger with Hyundai Securities, were given 18 penalties from authorities -- the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Exchange and the Fair Trade Commission. This accounted

Seoul-headquartered asset management firm Mirae Asset Global Investments has secured a foothold for its exchange traded fund-related business through acquisitions overseas.  In July, Mirae Asset’s asset management unit completed the acquisition of New York-based ETF provider Global X Management Co. LLC in a $488 million deal as announced in February. The acquisition is expected to provide an “anchor presence” in the United States ETF market. With the addition of global ETF

South Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air announced Tuesday that Holiday Inn Express Seoul Hongdae will start operations Saturday in Hongdae, a neighborhood rife with street performances and works of art in the capital.This comes after about two years of construction on 53,900 square meters of land near Hongik University in western Seoul that kicked off in September 2016, largely backed by Jeju Air’s investment.Interior view of Holiday Inn Express Seoul Hongdae. (Jeju Air)Jeju Air has pledged to in

South Korea and Singapore will set up a fund worth at least 237.5 billion won ($213.2 million) to invest in Korean startups that seek to enter the Singaporean market and vice versa.  The state-backed fund of funds management firm Korea Venture Investment Corp. will partner with Singapore-based investment company Temasek Holdings to create the fund within six months, according to the Korean fund manager Monday.The size of the global fund could be expanded, depending on the volume of the Sing